Little Girl No More
by Pi-Kyu
Summary: Ten years after the disbandment of YuRiPa, Rikku has made a name for herself as the fearless bounty hunter that will deliver any mission with perfect record. Her thirst for adventure eventually leads her to one man from her past which may possibly be the downfall of the famous thief.
1. Chapter 1

**Little Girl No More**

 **Summary :** Ten years after the disbandment of YuRiPa, Rikku has made a name for herself as the fearless bounty hunter that will deliver any mission with perfect record. Her thirst for adventure eventually leads her to one man from her past which may possibly be the downfall of the famous thief.

 **A/N:** I've bought the new remastered FFX/FFX-2 for my PS4 and it reminded me of how much I love Gippal/Rikku couple! I never have a good track record in finishing up my stories but this time around I am determined to challenge myself and finish this story with the plotline that I have set right from the beginning. I have also decided to use Chuami and Kurgum characters from FFX : Will Audio drama as part of Rikku's new bounty hunting party though they might not retain their original personalities. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Rikku hid low in the bushes; her trained ears hard at work, listening for any subtle movements within her peripherals. Her hands gripped tighter on her daggers as minutes ticked passed. She simply did not like the eeriness of Macalania Woods. The air was stagnant, as was the wind. The woods were long abandoned by the Guados and rumour has it that these woods were still haunted by the pyreflies of the unsent. The dying forest was threatening to drag her back through time to the innocent, uncertain girl of fifteen she used to be before she went on to become the saviour of Spira, twice.

Since parting ways with Yuna and Paine, Rikku had tried out settling down at Bikanel Island to help rebuild Home but she left once she found out that Cid was trying play the matchmaker yet again. She went on to join Brother and Buddy for a year on their sphere hunting adventure but it was simply not the same without her girls. The boys and her lacked a common goal and there was no fun, gossipy sessions like it used to be when Yuna and Paine were around. Often, she was filled with a potent mix of nostalgia and wistfulness whenever she was alone on the Celcius. Buddy had voiced out, in more than one occasion, that she needed to stop being so gloomy and seek out for an adventure that is truly hers whenever he found her sitting by herself, tinkering with her machinas or staring out into the distant horizon with tears in her eyes. It took her an awful amount of courage to finally walk out the door. Nothing good can be gained if she continued living in her past; only a fool would want to go back to the period of fear and insecurity. The last nine years however had done her good. Rikku the once happy-go-lucky, positive girl from Bikanel, had found a livelihood in being a bounty hunter instead, with a party she formed with three other friends she met along her journey.

At twenty-seven and a fully matured woman now, Rikku refused to give in into the creepiness of the forsaken forest and steeled herself to proceed forward whilst under camouflage. She moved out from her hiding spot and leapt onto the nearest oversize tree branch, staying effectively out of her target's sight. Her commsphere began to glow red and a husky voice flowed into her earpiece.

" _Captain, the Chimera is approaching east. Kurgum and I will be intercepting it in five."_

"Roger that," Rikku replied. She moved on slowly and into formation, bidding her time to strike down on the fiend. As she crouched low on the highest branch, the commsphere came alive again; this time it was the voice of a grouchy young woman.

" _Are we done yet? I'm starving over here."_

" _Keep it to yourself Chuami, we're all starving out here but none of us are complaining are we?"_ Another voice belonged to Kurgum, responded.

" _Are we even getting paid enough for this ridiculous quest? Who comes to Macalania these days anyway?"_ Chuami complained. Rikku can almost envision her saying it, with a toss of her braided hair and that exasperating attitude. She had often wondered why Chuami even bothered joining her group. She had an important and well paid job as a member of Spira council years ago after all. She and Kurgum came as a pair two years ago when they decided to revolt against the council.

" _Hey hey hey…. We have our reputations to live up to, all right? Our clients have utmost trust in us and have even given us the bounty money before we set out on this expedition."_

" _Pft, what bounty money? We can barely pay for two nights at Bevelle's finest tavern with that meagre amount. What a bullshit case of charity!"_

"Shush it people!"Rikku retorted fiercely into the sphere, finally getting tired of their bickering. "We're on a mission right now! Another word and no dinner for either of you do you hear me?"

Two male voices chuckled over the communication line. It was Chuami that replied in a defeated tone. _"Yes… boss."_

" _Kuut."_

That effectively ended their conversation. The moon was high, and Rikku could feel her sweat trickling down her forehead. Their party had taken up the quest over a week ago at the request of two travelling Guados during their visit in Bevelle. The bounty reward for successfully slaying the giant Golden Chimera was only a mere two thousand gils and a written piece of song dedicated to their bravery. It had, however, always been Rikku's motto to help those in need and she accepted the request eagerly at the expense of camping out for the entire week, much to Chuami's displeasure.

The giant roar of the fiend was her signal to jump in. Rikku could see the golden Chimera being pushed back to the spacious opening where she was standing twenty feet above. Dylan, the tanker of the party, was methodically slashing the blazing fiend with paramount accuracy while Kurgum stayed back to cast Haste on himself and Chuami. The beast struck out with a loud battle cry, knocking Dylan out of its way and headed straight for the vulnerable Kurgum. Rikku took this opportunity to chuck a gas grenade to obscure the fiend's vision and sliced its back with her dual blades. The wolf head of the chimera let out another roar and breathed fire towards its surrounding, catching some woods on fire.

"Rikku! Get out of the way!" Came a cry and Rikku jumped out just on time to see bullets raining down on the rear side of the creature. She risked a glance at Chuami who was chanting discretely as she fired down enchanted ammos towards the fiend's blind spot. Kurgum, the obvious support of the party had also started casting Heal on Dylan who was currently churning down a bottle of potion as the female members continued to divert the chimera's attention.

Rikku could not help but to shudder when the fiend started to go berserk; she knew the collective damages have finally taken its toll on the creature and weakening it in the process. When Dylan was back on the frontline to counter its attacks, Rikku tried to signal to Chuami to retreat and let Dylan deal the final blow as she was giving away her position the longer she shot at the creature. Whenever a chimera goes on rampage, especially a behemoth size such as this, its heads would adapt to the pattern of its attackers in order to cover its blind spots. Another second or so, it would have spotted Chuami's location. Dylan struck a particularly hard blow onto the chimera's abdomen, causing it to stagger, followed by a strong Fira spell by Kurgum which completely knock it off its two feet. The fiend crashed backwards, towards Chuami's hiding spot. Rikku leapt out from her position quicker than she could think, her instincts took over and pushed Chuami out of danger, only to be whipped backwards onto the hard cold ground, thirty feet away.

" _Captain!"_

" _Boss!"_

" _Rikku!"_

A sudden bout of dizziness that followed suit from the impact fogged her vision but she tried her best to stay awake. Shouts could be heard all around her and she felt the blood beginning to trickle down the back of her head. She had probably broken a bone or two with that fall. In fact, she could not feel her left leg. Her ankle was undeniably dislocated. Feeling very disorientated and bruised all over, Rikku tried to close her eyes to ease the throbbing pain but before she could even contemplate on her next move, Chuami's voice cried into her earpiece.

" _Get up boss! The chimera is coming your way! Please, just get up!"_

Over the course of her life, Rikku has always thought she would have die in a more graceful way. Even when she was battling Sin or Venagun, she knew even if she did not get out alive, she could at least die heroically with comrades in arms. Funny how, ten years after all that dramas, she still had the tendency to live life haphazardly. Perhaps that was her fate all along but she refused to go down without a good fight. She tried moving her arms towards the belt resting next to her knee.

" _I would not forgive you if you die now, Rikku! Get the hell up and out of the way NOW!"_

She could hear her heart pounding and felt the adrenaline pumping throughout her body as the fiend charged aggressively towards her. Her party members were screaming frantically into the commsphere earpiece as she removed the grenade from the discarded belt with her right palm.

" _Captain! Can you hear us?! Captain?!"_

With a slight push using her left elbow, Rikku painfully propped herself up and smirked at the ploughing chimera. She whispered into her earpiece with complete confidence, "I've got this guys, just make sure you got my ass covered."

She could hear her commsphere cackle alive with positive replies.

"All right, let's do this."

Rikku pulled the pin off the grenade with her teeth right before the fiend lounged onto her. She had never been so certain in her life that she was doing the right thing. Deep inside, she trusted her companions with her all her life, like how Yuna trusted hers during her pilgrimage. With every ounce of strength left in her body, she threw the hand grenade at the direction of the lunging fiend and tried her best to roll out of the radius of explosion. The giant chimera seemed to sense her abrupt movement - though a second too late - and breathed a storm of fire as an act of defence; creating a destructive force catastrophic enough to shake and shatter the ground they stood on, followed by a blinding light that engulfed the surrounding vicinity.

Chuami sped down the branches just in time to see the fiend extinguished in a mist of pyreflies. Dylan and Kurgum waited for the light to die off before following suit. They gasped at the deep crevice that was created when they finally caught up to their party member.

Chuami, the now sole female member, was already running around the diameter of the fissure, looking for any sign of their party leader.

"Wait, I don't see her anywhere!" She shouted in panic. "Did she get caught in the explosion?"

Dylan's bastard sword fell to the ground with a deafening clank and before anyone could stop him, he was sliding down the dark crevice. Kurgum, the only sensible one in the party, removed his hood and instantly turned on his commsphere. That however, did not stop him from jerking his head around to make sure he did not miss any sign of Rikku.

"Let me check her vital signals via the commsphere!" He yelled out and began fidgeting with the machina even though his fingers could not stop shaking. "Damn it, it's not working!"

"Dylan! Is she down in there?" Chuami shouted down into the darkness.

Three seconds later, a resounding 'no' echoed from below the hole. Chuami immediately directed her attention to her partner Kurgum. "Any sign of her then?"

Kurgum shook his head in defeat. "No… her commsphere might be broken from the impact," he said, looking into Chuami's amber eyes. "Captain has always been a fighter. We know she would never die from a fight like this. She has always managed to escape unharmed…maybe…just maybe…this time…," his voice began to crack as Chuami embraced him, soothing him with a low tone. Kurgum has always been like a brother to her and despite their petty arguments, they have always been there for each other.

"Hush now, Boss will be fine. Like you said we know she is a fighter. She probably managed to roll off the hill on time,"Chaumi cooed. Realisation suddenly dawned on her as she spoke. "Huh… hill…" Straightening her back, she released Kurgum from her arms and looked back at the scene. It was not obvious to them before but the part of the woods that Rikku was blasted to was actually sitting on a downhill slope. Perhaps, just perhaps, not all hope was lost.

"I think… she might have a survived that after all."

There was a flagrant shift in the atmosphere when Chaumi uttered the words.

Dylan was already out of the crevice and was in the midst of retrieving his sword before he spoke. "I didn't see anything down there. It is possible that Rikku avoided the explosion by rolling downhill. Let's hope it's not too late when we get to her. The moon is already waning out and fiends are most active at this time of the night."

Everyone nodded in unison and began the descend downhill.

* * *

Rikku could feel herself being lifted up whilst she drifted in and out of consciousness. She could hear people bustling and conversing all around her. There was something familiar, almost nostalgic about their accents. It was almost as if she was transported back Home.

Rikku rose to consciousness slowly, almost cautiously. She was almost certain she would not survive that nasty detonation but then again, she had a pretty sweet track record of surviving the most unexpected situations. Blinking her eyes blearily, she began to take in her surroundings. Almost without thinking, Rikku opened her mouth to call out for her party members but only successful in coughing up more blood. She could feel the metallic distaste in her mouth as she tried to lever herself up with her forearms. Right at that moment, two gentle arms pushed her back down onto the bed.

"You're still injured, Lady Rikku. Please stay in bed until further advice is given by the healers."

Rikku struggled to get up but to no avail. She could feel her energy being drained as she flailed around and reluctantly allowed the healer to tuck her back into bed. The healer proceeded to run a few diagnostic tests to determine her condition. It was when the female healer finally left the room, she realised there was another figure propped against the wall at the back of the room.

With a sly smirk in place, the figure strutted to her bed and Rikku had to cringe slightly when white lights were blocked from her eyes.

"Hey Cid's girl, fancy meeting you here."

She knew that voice. That smirk. That face.

She stared into the very emerald eyes of her former acquaintance – the reigning leader of Machine Fraction, a childhood friend and the man that once haunted her dream...

" _Gip-pal...?_ "

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Please review as it keeps me going!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

" _Gip-pal?"_

"The one and only."

Rikku blinked. Her throat was dry, her lips are cracked and she could taste blood in her mouth. She tried to say something else but only coughs escaped her lips.

"Stay still Cid's girl, you're in no condition to move. Here, have some water," Gippal said as he adjusted her cot's level and poured her some water from the pitcher. Rikku groggily accepted the liquid with her bandaged hands and slowly tipped the glass down her lips, wincing when some droplets touched her damaged skin. When she was well hydrated, she opened her mouth to speak once more.

"Where…where are we?" Her voice was coarse and soft.

" _Parasudr,_ or the _Behemoth_ as the rest of the Spira calls it. My personal airship," Gippal grinned.

Rikku frowned, how the hell did she end up in _his_ airship? It had to be at least seven years since they last saw each other and she still remembered how Gippal refuse to come to her aid when she needed his help the most in order to hide from her father's men. He thought little girls like her should just settle down and play housewives back at Bikanel. That very statement had sent her packing away and she had never attempted to keep in touch after. Over the years, she had heard the occasional news of how the leader of Machine Fraction slowly climbed his way up the Spira hierarchy to become one of the most influential men in Spira – through the novel invention of airships, built using the Al Bhed technology, which allowed for easier travelling and trading routes that were otherwise impossible due to long distances. Gippal had radically changed how the world perceived Al Bheds; machinas were definitely more accepted by the general society compared to ten years ago.

"Don't believe me?" Gippal mocked when he received no reply.

Rikku could only sigh. Seemed like he was still the same old cocky Gippal she knew. "No, I do, oh great _Lord Gippal,"_ she sneered. "Now, can you tell me how our path crossed and if you have heard anything from my party members?"

He smirked at her response and pulled a chair towards the side of her bed. "Aw, no 'I miss you Gippie' or something like that?"

Rikku glared back at him with all the force she could summon before lashing out with her sharp tongue. "No. I am tired. I am in pain. And I am hungry. If you could just supply me with the information, I will be eternally grateful and be out of your way faster that you can say Chocobo, old man."

Gippal simply watched her with that annoying smirk of his before chortling out in laughter. "I sure miss having you around!" He ruffled her bedraggled hair affectionately and settled down into the seat. "Don't need to leave so soon kid, I've already got your commsphere fixed and sent a message to your friends. They will be meeting us in Bevelle once we dock."

"Good. How close are we to Bevelle?"

"Two days at most. We are presently making a detour back to Djose to pick up some goods before I drop you off," Gippal replied good-naturedly. "You are lucky some passer-by found you lying unconscious between the edge of Macalania Woods and Thunder Plain last night. They contacted Rin's men in the nearby agency and he sent me a message of your ill fortune. I was in town to negotiate some deals with the locals. Never thought I would see you again though but I have to say, your reputation sure has spread across the land."

"My reputation is nothing compared to yours though. You have done a lot to restore the confidence back for our community," she stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

Gippal paused and looked into her eyes, searching for that girl he once knew – not this guarded, stoic and hard countenance of a young woman who seemed to be accustomed to harsh plights. Warmth and innocence no longer marred those eyes and he could only wonder what went on with her life the day she decided to cut him out completely.

Rikku could see the uneasiness brewing in Gippal's eyes. Instead, she chose to ignore it and gave an absent-minded glance over the room. It was a nice, simple enough cabin with a quaint table and two seats placed across each other at one corner of the room. Her torn clothes were folded neatly in one of the chair which she earnestly hoped was the work of the healers, not Gippal. To the left of her bed, there was another door which she assumed leads to the bathroom. The room itself was painted in creamy hues and she could see the clear blue sky right across her bed through the glass wall. Rikku found herself relaxed into the bed despite not being able to feel her legs; probably due to the anaesthesia potions administered earlier by the healer.

"The room… is nice," she declared airily, her head was still pounding from last night's incident.

Gippal ran a hand over his still spikey hair and heaved a sigh. "You've changed."

Rikku remained indifferent. "Have I?" she lightly inquired.

"Yeah and it's weird. _So weird._ " Her eyebrows went up at the statement. "You're out of reach for almost a decade after that ruckus with Cid. I heard you took up bounty hunting a couple of years after with some outcasts. And yesterday, I found you half dead in the outskirts of an abandoned forest. Who exactly have you turned into?"

Rikku frowned skeptically and decided to settle into one emotion that was easy to exhibit, anger. "You have to realise that we're both close to thirty by now? It's called growing up."

"I know. And it's weird." Gippal cringed. Many years ago she was that pretty little girl that used to follow him around Home, listening to him talked about his possible grand adventures across the sea and across the continents. Of course, he had never factored her into his plans. He had just assumed she would grow up amicably in Bikanel, wed some important figure arranged by Cid and spend the rest of her days in the safety of Home. But then, everything changed.

"I'm no longer that little girl, Gippal," Rikku muttered prophetically, closing her eyes as fatigue began to claim her battered body. Gippal stood up immediately and proceeded to tuck her in. "I am really tired but…thank you for saving me," she yawned sleepily. "I will make it up to you somehow."

Gently, he drew the covers up to her chin and brushed some loose strand of hair off her face, his fingers linger a little longer that they should on her pale cheek. "Don't worry about it kid, just sleep tight. I will get the healers to bring you something to eat in a bit." Rikku nodded her thanks, turned her head against the pillow and willing herself to drift off into blissful slumber. Just as he was about to leave, her hand suddenly shot out from the covers, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hey…" She murmured softly from her bed covers, her back still turned against him.

"Hmm?" He cooed.

"Stop calling me Cid's girl. I have a name you know."

Gippal smiled at the sleepy figure adoringly and placed her hand back in, "Never, _Cid's girl_ ," and left the room.

* * *

Night came and goes and in the wee hours of the next morning, the _Parasudr_ was safely docked in the hangar of Djose Temple. Rikku stumbled out of her bed with slight bleariness, feeling more refreshed than she had been the entire week. Her body still ached and she felt filthy from the lack of bath; her hair was already losing their usual shine and she tried her best to put them back up in her usual ponytail. She felt the airship jerked marginally as goods were slowly being loaded aboard. Even from her cabin room, she could hear the hustle and bustle of the small town welcoming the new day; locals running about to carry out their daily activities, children laughing and screaming at each other and traders shouting bargains on the top of their lungs in hope of enticing some customers. Djose had certainly flourished over the years under the leadership of Machine Fraction, that much she was sure of.

Retrieving the blanket draped over the couch and wrapping it warmly around herself, Rikku carefully made her way towards the window, just in time to watch the the sun peeking out from over the horizon. Rays of sun slowly filtered into the room as she continued to gaze enigmatically at the town bustling with life, her eyes scanning aimlessly over the crowd, mainly observing the Al Bheds interaction with other races. Her gaze then settled upon the handsome figure of the Machine Fraction's leader who was chatting animatedly with a group of men. His tall, lean physique certainly made him stood out from the rest of them. She watched him leaned over one of his subordinate and playfully slung his arms around the poor fellow who laughed right along, obviously enjoying his leader's company despite the status differences. A soft knock startled her and she hastily left the window.

"Yes?" Rikku swung the door opened, almost knocking the poor woman carrying her breakfast. It turned out it was the same healer who has been treating her under Gippal's order; a pretty woman in her mid-thirties, with dark brown hair and chestnut-like eyes.

"Lady Rikku, I am here with your breakfast and some restorative potions that would aid your health recovery."

Rikku stepped aside to let her in and promptly shut the door. "Please, just call me Rikku," she insisted.

The female healer laughed daintily at her proposition. "Not after all that you have done for Spira, Lady Rikku."

She placed the tray on the coffee table and urged Rikku to sit before her so she could measure her pulse and blood pressure. Rikku pouted at the sight of the medicinal potions but did as she was told and took a sip of the freshly brewed tea, almost bletching at its bitter taste as the healer went to work.

"Ew, what in the name of Spira is this?"

"Cactuar extract, it is good for blood replenishing and helps with digestion."

Rikku made a face. "Do I really have to drink this?" she whined.

"Uh-huh," the healer said. "Just drink it in one go and you won't have to drink it again until tomorrow. Healer's orders."

With a disgruntled sigh, Rikku gulped the awful liquid down in one painful mouthful and immediately took a bite into the tiny sweet next to the cup. "I hope not, I am feeling much better already. I don't think I can drink this for another day, ugh." She watched attentively at how the healer redressed her bandages on her legs before a thought strike her. "Do you know where my commsphere is, urm…"

"Lenneth," the healer responded with a smile. "And yes, I think I last saw it in the cockpit. Do you want me to fetch it for you?"

"Oh? Thanks Lenneth, if you can. I need to contact my party members, I don't want them to worry too much." Rikku stated and began to tuck into her hearty meal once the healer was done with her administrations. "Say… can you bring me a parchment and something to write as well?" she asked in between munching a piece of bread and bits of fruits.

"Much certainly, I will be back with them and some fresh change of clothes after."Lenneth replied politely with a bow before stepping away to the door. "Is there anything else I can assist you with?" she asked one last time.

"Hmm..." Rikku contemplated for a while before turning around to reply. "That's all for now I think. Thank you for everything you have done for me Lenneth."

"You are very welcome, Lady Rikku."

* * *

Hours later, Gippal boarded _Parasudr_ after sorting out his work with his assistant. He needed to deliver Rikku back to Bevelle by tomorrow and despite his hectic schedule, he wanted to personally see her off. He ascended the bridge and greeted his men, ordering them to set their course for Bevelle. Two of the staffs exchanged a worried glance which did not go unnoticed by their leader.

"What's the problem?" Gippal asked in Al Bhed. One of the men shot up from his seat with a frightful salute and stammered faintly in his native tongue.

"Lady… Rikku, she… is already on her way to Bevelle. She took the emergency aircraft by the hangar this morning and left before anyone could stop her."

Gippal let out a frustrated sigh and headed towards the control panels of the ship where his seat lies.

"Wait, where did the commsphere go?" he exclaimed when he realised the particular device was missing too.

The frightened man stuttered out once more. "Lenneth came and took it this morning, said it was requested by Lady Rikku herself."

Gippal raised a hand to dismiss him. "Figures," he muttered to himself. Rikku had always been a mischievous little bird. She can never stay too long at one spot. Stretching out his arms, he plopped into his seat and lifted both his feet up on the desk. A slip of paper that was lying on the spot where Rikku's commsphere had once been caught his eyes.

 _Thanks for saving me, Gippal._

 _Until we see each other again._

 _Rikku. (Not Cid's Girl)_

 _P.S. I borrowed one of your smaller craft, will return it to you one day. I hope._

That little minx, she thought she was so clever didn't she? Gippal crumpled the simple note written in Al Bhed in his palm, torn between amusement and disappointment – then smoothed it out to read once again. He was unused to be the one at the receiving end of a prank. In his younger days, he was always the one teasing Rikku, not the other way around. What sort of friend would he be if he let her get away in such condition and with such blatant thievery?

Grinning sheepishly at the note, he twirled his seat around and planted his feet firmly onto the bridge. Seemed like he had a good reason to be at Bevelle after all.

"Men, prepare for take-off. We will depart for Bevelle at 1800, an hour earlier from the initial schedule. Make sure all the goods are loaded for trading."

They all cheered in unison.

Oh, he will get his craft back.

Rikku will never get away.

Not this time.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thank you for the review, Kim and Nina Heart! So glad someone is still reading FFX-2 fics. :D

 **Chapter 3**

Dusk had fell swiftly in the outskirt of Bevelle as travellers began to flock into the tavern, each tired from their adventures; each wanted nothing more than a nice hearty meal and a comfortable bed to lie in. When Chuami and Kurgum entered the tavern later that evening, they received more than just a few curious stares; whispers and gossips began to circular the room. The brunette female ignored the gasps and rumours and swept confidently through the crowd. Kurgum on the other hand held his head down low and made a beeline for his partner, uncomfortable to such attention still.

"Three of your house beers, two Coeurl steaks, one mixed salad and a bowl of catfish stew." Chuami said while glaring at the barmaid behind the counter who noted down her orders quickly and curtsied a reply before running back into the kitchen. She then slapped some gils onto the counter and turned around to sneer at the locals around the room, as if challenging them to a confrontation. Her action had only propelled the masses to gossip more.

"Stop doing that Chuami. You are only encouraging them," Kurgum apprehended. He plopped himself on the bar stool and poured himself some water from the pitcher. "Let's not draw anymore attention to ourselves okay?"

Chuami stuck her tongue out at some women on the corner of the room before turning away to face her comrade. "I hate Bevelle," she stated bitterly and snatched the glass of water away from Kurgum.

He chuckled mirthlessly and poured himself another, silently agreeing that resident of Bevelle can be quite gratifying.

"Did you order for Dylan?" Kurgum asked as he watched the bartender preparing their drink from behind the counter.

"You know I did," she replied and started to scan around the room. "Come." Chuami pulled Kurgum's hand and led him to a hidden booth at the far back of the room, away from all the wary looks and whispers.

"Much better!" she exclaimed as she moved into the opposite side of her partner.

"I hope Captain is well, I can't believe she is already on her way back without a second's rest," Kurgum began as they settled into their new found privacy. "Her vitality level is just crazy. Speaking of which, you better get in contact with the Guados to let them know we have completed the bounty."

Chuami stifled a yawn and leaned back against the wooden seat. "Yeah, yeah. I know the protocols. Let me replenish my energy first, I haven't had a proper meal in a long time."

Kurgum frowned at her statement. "Was my cooking that terrible?"

Waving a hand in front of him, she quickly defended herself. "No, of course not. But you have to admit, we all missed actual food. If I have to go another day eating wild berries, I'll off myself."

Kurgum chuckled.

"I am really sick of eating in frugal," Chaumi added and waved the barmaid who was currently holding onto their drinks over. "Also," she continued after successfully getting the young's girl attention. "I am not letting boss pick any of the quest anymore after this. She always seem to pick the worse ones out of the lots, remember that time with the rampaging adamantoise?"

"And the killer hound." Kurgum added as the young barmaid placed their drinks and a bowl of chips in front of them.

"And operation monkey in Guadosalam." Chaumi continued solemnly though she did eyed the chips dubiously. Just as Kurgum was about to reach out for the chips, Chaumi shot her hand forward and withheld his arm.

"Hey!" she called out at the direction of the barmaid and startled the poor girl who was on her way to serve another table. Kurgum had half the mind to lecture her for the rudeness she exhibited but restrained himself as he did not want to attract more attention to their party.

"Y..yes?" the short hair girl stammered.

Chaumi crossed her legs and folded her arms before saying, "We didn't order this."

Terrified by Chaumi's stern voice, the girl reached into the pocket of her apron to retrieve the order docket. "Oh..err...urm… it's not...on the order - let… let me check with the kitchen, miss."

Kurgum immediately locked eyes with the girl and mouthed a silent sorry. She blushed profusely at him and walked back to the kitchen. Chaumi stared pointedly at him. He merely shrugged in defiant.

"Do you have to be so mean? She was only doing her job," Kurgum asked when the barmaid was finally out of sight.

"She had _one_ job. And I am not paying for her mistake." Chaumi huffed and took a huge gulp of the liquor. "Man, that hits the spot!" she exclaimed before fixing her gaze upon the lifeless Commsphere on the table.

"How long more until boss arrives at Bevelle?"

Kurgum took a sip of his beverage and lazily flicked at the mini sphere strapped on his left wrist. "Soon-ish, what's up?"

"Just curious," She shrugged. "I didn't know she is friends with the leader of Machine Fraction. She has never mention him at all in all of her travels. I wonder if he will be accompanying her back."

Kurgum contemplated before speaking, "Well they are both Al Bheds, they probably know each other in passing," he reasoned.

Chaumi leaned forward and grinned, "Do you think if we ask nicely, boss would finally give in and let us upgrade _Elite_? Now that I think of it, we could do so much better with an upgraded Al Bhed auto-pilot craft system as well. Given her relationship with the uprising leader of Machine Fraction, she could probably fetch us nice discounts too," She finished off the sentence with a small giggle and sipped her beer contentedly.

Kurgum's eyes were wide open with excitement. "It would be nice if we can get the drive shaft fixed too. The noise does get unbearable every time we take off."

Chaumi agreed. "Yeah, I am no engineer but Dylan and boss can probably install the systems themselves and teach us after. Oh look! They are finally here," Chaumi stood up and waved at the newly entered customers.

"Dylan, right over here!"

A tall lanky man with short jet black hair and a pretty blonde woman who have just entered the tavern nodded in acknowledgement - the former had his arm around her waist while she leaned onto the broader male, her right arms resting comfortably on his much higher shoulder, and together they maneuvered their way through the drunken crowd, the woman limping ever so slightly and arrived at the designated table.

"Hiya," Rikku greeted with forced enthusiasm and pushed herself down onto the seat next to Chaumi while Dylan took the seat beside Kurgum. "How is everyone?" she asked. Her arms were bandaged, her legs lightly bruised but no one made any comment about them.

Kurgum quickly fumbled into his bag and produced a greenish-hue potion which he placed right in front of Rikku. "Remedy, freshly brewed this morning. Might not taste as good as yours but effective nonetheless."

Rikku groaned at the sight of the potion while Chaumi chuckled good-naturedly. "He's been working on that the whole of this morning, at least give it a sip boss."

"He woke up really early this morning to hike up the highlands to harvest the medicinal leaves," Dylan prodded, pushing the potion closer to Rikku. Kurgum stared puppy eye at his captain and nodded enthusiastically.

She could only sigh and ran a hand over her hair in defeat. "All right, all right, _mom and dads_. I will down it seeing how my hands are all tied and Kurgum has gone to such extend to brew it for me. Can you at least give me a mint leaf to chew on?"

Kurgum extracted the said leaf from his bag once more and lifted his mug cheerfully. "Welcome back captain."

Dylan and Chaumi both raised their beer and Rikku (in a much better spirit) raised her potion and muttered customarily, "Good job everyone for defeating the giant Chimera. We just need to work on the teamwork and we will be acing every bounty quest."

Kurgum pointed a finger at Chaumi and teased. "Did you hear that darling?"

Chaumi stuck her tongue out and clinked her mug. " _I will try_."

"You know how I feel about 'trying'." Rikku wriggled her finger. "We talk about this before, didn't we?"

Chaumi stood up straight, her cheeks flushed from the effect of the alcohol and her hand up high in a salutation pose. "I will definitely work on it boss."

Rikku grinned at her mischievousness, she reminded her so much of her past self. " _Kuut_ ," she said in her native Al Bhed and gulped the bitter potion down with much difficulty and chewed immediately on the minty leaf.

"Ugh, disgusting," she cried out, earning a hearty laugh around the table. Even Dylan, the quiet member of the group gave her a small smile. It was definitely good to be back, Rikku thought silently.

The barmaid came back and announced that the chips were on the house, alongside with the meals Chaumi had ordered. Rikku tried to sneak in an order herself but Dylan or Kurgum was not having any of ordered her a boring sandwich with flan sauce and a cup of digestive tea which she pouted and pouted in dismayal until Dylan, the only sensible individual who wasn't afraid to put Rikku in her place, threatened to admit her to the local infirmary for further inspection that she gave up and drank her very boring tea, though not without more pouts. When everyone was finished with their dinner, Chaumi tried to talk Rikku into upgrading their airship while Dylan and Kurgum were immersed in a heated game of Old Fiend (much like Old Maid except the cards have fiend caricatures designed on them). Dylan wore his poker face the whole time which resulted in 2-0, with no wins for Kurgum. He then demanded another round of cards which Dylan reciprocated with a rare smirk that drove Kurgum mad with rage.

"No means _no,_ Chaumi," Rikku said for the umpteenth time and shook her head furiously, trails of hair began to escape the confine of her messy ponytail. At the corner of her eyes, she watched Kurgum pulled a card out from Dylan's stack of card and banged his head thrice onto the back of the wooden seat in the booth before reshuffling his deck. Dylan exchanged a knowing look with her and Rikku rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Chaumi. "We just don't have the gils right now."

"Why not?" her party member whined. "We can always make more gil by taking up more quests. I know you are against helping some of the less reputable clients but we can only get so far with the current _Elite_. We haven't even upgrade our rank within the bounty guild! Are we going stay forever as novice hunters?"

Rikku cringed at her outburst and settled back against her seat, taking her cup of tea with her. "And what's wrong with staying as novice hunter? We are doing good for Spira which should always be our primary concern. You should be quite aware of the party's objective right from the start," she chastised.

Chaumi ruffled her hair in annoyance, her braids flew about haphazardly, closed to being tangled and puffed out her cheeks.

"We always take on unregistered quests and stopping by settlements to see if they need any helping hands. Don't get me wrong though -," she continued to argue with her index finger pointing at Rikku. Dylan and Kurgum stopped their game momentarily to observe the never-ending argument.

"I like helping people and all that jazz but have you ever stop to think about _us_? _About Dylan and Kurgum?_ We always have cold meals. We always sleep on bad beds. Sometimes we don't even have enough fuel to run the poor airship. Have you ever stop and think why we are so low in gils? We couldn't even afford to stay in inns these days due to the meager rewards we are getting off _these_ charity quests!"

"Are you saying that _Elite_ isn't good enough now? Or do you have problem with me assigning you tasks as the party leader?" Rikku asked in a dangerously low voice. "If you have problem with how I conduct the party, perhaps you shouldn't have join in the first place? Stop being such a spoiled brat Chaumi, suck it up."

Dylan and Kurgum exchanged a worried look and did a mental game of papers scissors rock. Kurgum somehow lost, and he tried to step in before things get even more heated up. Arguments between both females were not uncommon but they were usually harmless and playful. Things were escalating far too quickly right now for any of their comfort. Another wrong choice of words and the relationships between the party members might go south from thereon.

"Um guys…"Kurgum tried to intervene. "Let's not fight over this okay? We are here to celebrate the completion of the quest, not to -" His soft, boyish voice was then drowned out by Chaumi's louder and enraged scream.

" _Me being spoiled and childish?_ " The look in her eyes did not bore well.

Rikku took a sip of her tea and calmly said. "I didn't say anything about childish, just spoiled."

"More like you're being childish! That does it, I'm out. I QUIT!" Chaumi shouted over the deafening music in the tavern and snapped off the silver badge off her vest. She slammed the metal brooch hard onto the table and folded her arms, only because Rikku was blocking her only way out. Rikku merely laid down her tea, stood up and bent forward to a mocking bow which exasperated her even further. Chaumi gave a last huff and marched out the tavern unceremoniously, not before shouting at a couple of men who tried to flirt with her at the front door; if they weren't attracting attentions then, they surely did now.

The youngest member of the party was shell shocked and stared for a very long time at the door. He then diverted his gaze at Rikku whose shoulders were slumped and her hands were balled up to a fist. He was torn as to whether to chase after his childhood friend or leave her alone to let her blow off her steam. He knew she would always come back but he was also worried for her safety as creatures that lurk behind the shadows of the woods at such hour were always dangerous.

Kurgum stood up to say something but Dylan stopped him before he could do anything.

"Let me handle this, kid. Stay here and watch after captain," he commanded. The stoic man then turned around to address Rikku. "Even though she may be wrong here, that doesn't make you right either."

And with that he left the table.

Rikku sighed again, she seemed to be doing a lot of that these days and snapped for the barmaid at the distance. The young girl rushed by and tried to refill her tea but she demanded for brandy instead. Kurgum shook his head and muttered 'water' to the girl and she pretended to note down brandy and disappeared.

"I saw that Kurgum."

He tensed up and laughed sheepishly at the older woman. "Ha ha… nothing seems to escape your good eyes, captain."

"Tell me, was I too harsh?" Rikku asked, resting her chin both her knuckles and looking straight at the younger boy.

Kurgum hesitated but spoke with confidence. "No, she needed to hear that. We all know she will come back." He ended the sentence with a shrug.

It was one of those moment that reminded her of how much he had grown over the last two years. When she first met him, he had spoken highly of Yuna and how much he revered her and her guardians for bringing forth the Eternal Calm over Spira. Back then, he was a kind and gentle young summoner working under Spira Council but he was convinced that a life as a politician was not something he wanted. He wanted to be free, like her, sailing under the blue skies and seeing the world with his own two eyes. He had won her over with his determination alone. Since then, under her wings, they have both blossomed into young, responsible adults, albeit immature at times. Sometimes, she sees Yuna in those soft blue eyes and she would be reminded of the happy and sad times she have gone through together with everyone during the pilgrimage to Zanarkand.

Rikku blinked out of reverie as Kurgum continued. "But captain…" She smiled at the adoring title he gave him and broke out into a small smile.

"We can't go on putting our lives in danger each time we embark on a bounty quest. We do need to upgrade _Elite_ , whether you like it or not. Our livelihoods depends on her after all."

The barmaid set two glasses of water in front of them and Kurgum thanked her for her service. She blushed and slipped a paper underneath the table which he nonchalantly accepted. Rikku turned the other way and pretended she didn't see any of the exchange. Kurgum is a healthy man with healthy needs after all.

"And I can make do on limited supply and sharing the bunk bed with Dylan. It made the journey fun, almost surreal and it is definitely so much better than staying in the capital surrounded by maids and wealth," he continued as if nothing happened between him and the barmaid. "Chuami is still trying her best to adjust to this sort of lifestyle, so please give her time." he pleaded.

"I guess that's my cue then then," Rikku said and downed the glass of water. "I supposed I will get _Elite_ upgraded before our next big quest." She stood up and urged Kurgum to come forward to support her as she limped painfully around the table.

"Does that mean that we have the funds after all?" The younger man inquired hopefully as he put a friendly arm around her shoulder and helped her move towards the entrance.

"No, but we do have some… _supplies,_ " she grinned impishly and led her party member out of the tavern and into the dark of the night.

And by supplies, she meant the craft she stole from Gippal.

Looks like she couldn't keep her promise of delivering it back to him in one piece after all.

* * *

 **Notes** : Yes, drama and more drama! Just to note, Chaumi and Kurgum are both about 20 in this story, Rikku is 27 and Dylan is probably close to or have hit 30. I wanted to portray the dynamics of the party and that Rikku has somehow mature slightly to lead a party of her own. She is more like the big sister of the party though Dylan is like the pillar that supports the entire group from collapsing. I can't wait to finish writing up the next chapter! Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** More followers, thank you again! Hope you enjoy the story so far, I promised there will be more Gippal/Rikku scenes to follow soon! Also, I try to minimise Al Bhed language whenever I can despite the easiness of translating it though available Al Bhed translators. I just like keeping it all in English. I will also change the category to Mature soon once we hit some scenes in the plotline.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

The next few mornings found Rikku in a much better state, both in mind and physique, as she woke up to the familiar smell of fresh coffee brewing in the tiny kitchenette on _Elite._ She had 'the talk' with Chuami the day before after they have both calmed down and apologised for the wrongful things they have said in the tavern and called for a truce. She had also promised her younger teammate that she will contact Gippal's men the day after to inquire for a quote in regards to upgrading _Elite_ flight system. Both Chuami and Kurgum were so happy they gave her the biggest hug they could manage and Rikku happily indulged them in a round of storytelling of YuRiPa's good old days (even Dylan listened attentively) as everyone huddled around the kitchen table to ration their supplies carefully for the upcoming missions.

Rikku lazily stretched her arms and slowly climbed out of her bed, taking extra care of shifting the pressure away from her injured foot. It was healing quite nicely but Kurgum had forbidden her from any strenuous activity until it is fully healed if she wants to cut down on the amount of potions she were required to drink everyday. She had, of course, happily obliged to the condition. The bandages have already been removed from her arms last night and she flexed her fingers excitedly, feeling the familiar surge of strength coming back to her. Humming a happy tune, she made her bed and even Chuami's (which was messy as usual) in lightning speed before hopping over to the cabin's window and opened it to allow the morning air to enter the room. She then casually put on her favourite morning attire - blue shorts, yellow bikini and a pair of knee high boots, something she had not worn for a while, washed up, pulled her messy blonde hair up in a high ponytail and stepped out to greet the rest of the members.

Kurgum was the only one in the kitchen that morning. He flushed bright red when he saw his captain's daring choice of clothing. "Morning c-cap-captain," he stammered, trying his best to look elsewhere that was not plain skin.

Rikku smiled and walked over to brush his head in a sisterly manner. "What's for breakfast?" She asked and stole some berries from the plate on his hand, completely unaware of the younger man's predicament.

"Cr-crepes," he replied. He had tried to string proper sentences but words were failing him as Rikku's clothes were proving to be nothing but pure distraction. His party leader is certainly attractive with her slim, toned figure and legs that goes on forever but she had not worn something that was just legs and skins for such a long time that he had forgotten that she was only just seven years older than him. Definitely not old and wizened,tattered hag that no one wants as she had often called herself whenever she was too drunk to comprehend the words that left her mouth. Kurgum earnestly tried not to check her out as he placed the freshly cooked crepes before her.

Rikku smile grew wider at the sight of mouthwatering breakfast. "Smells heavenly. Did you put in my favourite cinnamon?"

"Yes I did, Captain. Added some honey too, I harvested from the wild bees," Kurgum said and promptly passed her some cutleries, though not without blushing when their fingers happened to brush each other. "Er - Coffee for you?"

"Uh-huh," Rikku nodded and he went on to pour her some coffee which she accepted appreciatively. Kurgum then worked on Dylan's breakfast and their conversation began to steer towards salvaging the craft Rikku 'took' from Gippal's territory days before she landed at Bevelle.

"Will we finally get to see the craft today? Where exactly did you hid it captain?" he asked as he flipped the crepe expertly in the air.

Rikku took a sip of coffee and replied, "Somewhere close by if I remember correctly. I've put up its invincible shell before I left it to find Dylan."

Kurgum's eyes grew wide, the crepe momentarily left forgotten. "Wow, it has invincibility core attached to it? That's... really expensive isn't it?"

Rikku smirked at his statement and stabbed triumphantly into the half eaten crepe. "It's a prototype craft designed by Machine Fraction leader. I found it sitting in one of the hangars in Djose Temple and nicked it secretly to study it closely. It wasn't heavily guarded anyway," she shrugged. "And since we needed the resources to upgrade _Elite,_ it doesn't hurt to dismantle it inside out and study it once they are transferred onto our craft instead."

"Great! But - wouldn't Sir Gippal be angry if he ever finds out about it? I mean, do we even have the permission to salvage the technology?" Kurgum reasoned.

Rikku chewed thoughtfully before confessing, "Technically I stole the craft." She watched the colours drained away from Kurgum's face and laughed lightly at the younger boy's delicate features.

"What?" She exclaimed when Kurgum gave no response at her confession; instead looking pale and palpitating at the thought of pilfering.

"If it was _that_ important, they should have secure it better. Not to mention hunt me down while they still could and not send me off like I was the queen."

"But Captain, we need to return the ship to them! You just stole a very important piece of machinery from the overlord of Machina!"

Rikku couldn't help but rolled her eyes.

"Too late, it's mine now."

"But -"

It was at that precise moment that Chaumi ran into the kitchen, her arms flinging wildly and she ran right into Rikku while panting silently from short breaths. When she looked into Rikku's questioning gaze, her face contorted into a series of panic exasperations that neither Rikku or Kurgum could comprehend. Irritated, she jabbed willfully at Rikku and pointed at her throat and suddenly it all made sense to her.

"Kurgum, she's silenced. Cast an Esuna, quickly!"

Kurgum did as he was told and soon the room was filled with nothing but unintelligible shoutings.

"THANKS SPIRA, YOU GUYS ARE SO SLOW!" Chaumi screamed at the top of her lungs, her braided hair fell out of style as she ran into her room, evidently searching for something of utmost importance.

"Wait, what's going on Chuami?" Kurgum questioned, following her into her cabin which was usually out of boundary to any male counterpart of the party.

Rikku sighed and raised her voice, getting a bit tired from all the drama. "Just stop what you are doing right now and tell us what is going or I swear I will -"

Chaumi made a grab for her guns on the vanity table and glared at both of them with an agitated huff. "There is a group of Al Bheds outside surrounding _Elite_ right now and Dylan is fighting the hoards of them off by himself. We don't understand what they are saying and they kept on chanting 'yenlnyvd, yenlnyvd' and it was driving us crazy!"

Kurgum and Rikku exchanged a look that said 'you shouldn't have done that captain, now look at what you have done.' and Rikku put her hand up to signal for a timeout.

"All right, let me - "

Chaumi didn't stop to listen. Instead, she pushed past them and headed for the open hatch with her guns checked and loaded. She was talking rapidly as she went. "I shoved them. They shoved me. And suddenly we are all screaming at each other. Dylan jumped in in the middle of all that and now they are threatening him at gunpoint, all because we don't understand each other! WHAT THE FUCK DO THEY WANT WITH US ANYWAY?"

Rikku sighed and intercepted Chuami's path, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know what they want, let me deal with them. They are my people after all."

Chaumi felt sick in the stomach when comprehension began to register behind her gaze which was reflected by the uncertainty step she took forward. "Boss, you… what have _you_ done this time? Please don't tell me you stole one of their craft."

Rikku bit her lips and looked away.

"I'll go and -"

"It was _you_ they were searching for. There were men, Al Bheds, all over the town the last couple of days searching for a thief that they claimed to have stolen their precious prototype aircraft that was meant to be launched in the upcoming bazaar exhibition in Bevelle. Rumours have it that the craft was stolen right under their noses and there I was thinking, it better not be the boss seeing how you just came back from Djose Temple..."

Rikku frowned. " _Thief?_ " she repeated mockingly. "I'm no thief, I merely borrow the craft to get back to you guys. I was going to return it okay?"

Kurgum raised his brow skeptically at her.

"I really will! Not in its current condition but I will nevertheless! I left a note for Gippal and all that," she added on. "Anyway like I said, let me handle this, it's me who they wanted after all, " she snatched the guns away from Chaumi and jumped out of the latch and into the imminent battle.

With a resounding bang from the hand pistols, Rikku reached for the garment grid attached to her blue bandana, changed into her songstress dressphere in mid air and bellowed right into the microphone as she gracefully landed, " _CDUB! TNUB YMM OUIN FAYBUHC!_ " The impact from her scream was amplified a thousand times, creating a proximity effect that spliced through the troupe of uninvited visitors like a blade that parted sea. There she stood, tall and proud, her emerald eyes flaring with unadulterated fury at the recognition of some faces in the fallen crowd. The Al Bheds stared in awe at their warrior princess, murmuring defeat in their native tongues as clink of weapons began to rang all around her. Some still had their weapons pointed at Dylan but they dropped them as soon as Rikku ordered them to. Dylan retrieved his sword indifferently and slowly made his way towards his party leader.

Chaumi stared down from the latch and whistled at the sight of fallen men. "Wow, what did boss just do?"

"She told them to surrender their weapons. She does hold a certain power over the Al Bheds," Kurgum speculated and jumped down to stand proudly behind his captain. Chaumi followed suit, picking up her abandoned pistols from the ground as she did.

"Frana ec ouin pucc?" Rikku asked the nearest man, her tone inquisitional yet held a certain authority that kept the rest of the Al Bhed at edge.

"Well?" she asked again, switching back to native Spiran with the microphone jabbed right at the chest of the man.

" _Spare the poor man, Cid's girl. I am here."_

She tensed almost imperceptibly at the voice as a familiar lanky figure stepped into her view. Armoured men flocked around him and he strode towards her like he owned the world. He did not appear to be shakened by the sight of his men fearing the Al Bhed princess. In fact, he couldn't help but felt a tinge of pride swelling in his chest. She _was_ a sight to behold.

Rikku faced him, her posture regal and battle-ready, her face, however, inscrutable.

"It is quite hard to find you. I had to create some commotions amongst the locals, spread some rumours just to get a hint of your location." Gippal spoke, his tone almost teasing.

Rikku dashed forward, switching from songstress to thief mode in a split second, blinding the guards around him as she placed a dagger threateningly at Gippal's throat; her eyes burning with contempt. How she hated that smirk of his. His bodyguards took two full seconds to recover and raised their spears to retaliate but Gippal put a stop to it before any weapon clashed. His emerald green eyes met hers in a fiery passion, neither relenting for something flickered within those orbs and both couldn't look away, held captive by something stronger than the thrill and pain.

"Why are you here?" she hissed sharply, the dagger digging dangerously deep into his skin, aching to leave a permanent mark should he try something funny. "Did you have me followed?"

Gippal raised a hand to touch her cheek and let his palm lingered on her soft sun-kissed skin, trailing a path down to her jaw. He watched her face morphed into recognisable anger and worry as her teammates shouted out for her, cursing and struggling to break free from his personal guards.

"Followed?" he laughed, not so subtly. "Don't you remember? You stole something important from me and I am here to get it back," his voice, butter soft as he whispered into her ear.

Rikku lowered her dagger and slapped his hand away, her voice cool and composed as ever. "I _did not_ steal your ship," she snarled into his face. "I _borrowed_ it."

"Is that what you tell yourself, hm?" Gippal prodded and leaned forward in a gesture that was almost intimidating. "And I saved your life back there, where's your gratitude, Cid's girl?"

"You can have it back, I have no use for it anymore. I was going to return it anyway," she proclaimed and the connection was broken. She turned on her heels, discarding her dagger as she swiftly turned off her thief dressphere, transforming back into her casual attire. "Pull your men back, there is no need for all the violence. I will show you where the craft is."

Gippal gave a signal and all his subordinates dispersed back into the woods, leaving them all alone. He cockily sauntered over to the party and flashed them his million-gil smile.

"Hiya, nice to meet you all. Name's Gippal, the leader of Machine Fraction and her, " he nudged playfully at Rikku's direction, " - ex lover."

" _What?_ " Chaumi screamed out. Kurgum couldn't believed what he was hearing either and Dylan just stared questioningly at Rikku for affirmation.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Chuami gushed. "Was this all just another lover's spat?"

"Don't be silly," Rikku explained coolly though she was shooting dirty looks at Gippal who was chortling good-naturedly. "We were friends in our adolescent years before I went on to join Yunie on her pilgrimage while he went on to become the greatest jerk in Spira by joining the Crimson League."

Gippal raised an eyebrow. "What's with all the hostility? Are you still angry that I left?"

" _No_."

"Somehow I don't believe that."

"Believe what you like, we both grew up, we both moved on. Big deal."

"I sense some back story here which boss failed to mention _obviously_ , " Chuami said, her eyes twinkling back and forth at the bantering couple. "That makes you sort of... family, aren't you?"

"We go a long way back," Gippal said, his eyes never once left Rikku. She on the other hand was actively ignoring his piercing gaze.

"You were part of the Crimson League, Sir Gippal?" Kurgum stepped forward, inquiring politely. "Are you close to Maester Baralai?"

"Sure do kid. We are best buddies, together with Noojie," he grinned at his friend's nickname before continuing. "Brothers born from different mothers. Say… you two look familiar, have we met somewhere before?"

Kurgum nodded enthusiastically at the sign of recognition. "Yes, I'm Kurgum and this is Chaumi -"

"Hello!" the female member waved cheerfully.

"We had our apprenticeship under Maester Baralai a few years ago. He has always been really nice to us and he shared a lot of stories about you, Sir Nooj and Lady Paine during your time in Crimson Squad." Kurgum continued.

Gippal grew into a grin. "Really, what did he say?"

"Many things. Like how you used to prank Sir Nooj into approaching tonberry heads on, and the Kilika Port incident."

"Oh yeah, _that_ Kilika Port incident _,_ can't forget that. _"_

They all shared a laugh but something clicked in the back of Gippal's mind and he noticed the same beaded earrings in Kurgum's right ear that Lady Yuna always fashioned. These were the two kids that Baralai had always talked about in his letters and messages. One day the letters stopped coming and he didn't mentioned about them anymore after that. "Why are you two here then? Something happened?" Gippal asked, honestly curious.

Chuami cut in, her tone slightly solemn. "Something like that, we rather not talk about it."

Kurgum, however tried to sustain the conversation with a lighter note. "If you do meet Maester Baralai though, please send him our regards."

Gippal tilted his head. He simply did not understand. Baralai had always resided in Bevelle and there they were, not in the heart of Bevelle but close enough for an impromptu visit. "Why don't you two go find him -"

" _Ahem!_ Enough chitchatting, let's get moving."

Sensing their discomfort, Rikku had promptly interrupted the conversation and began to direct them northwards, down the slope, towards the deeper part of forest. Gippal knew instinctively to stop pursuing the subject and willingly allowed Rikku to guide them into the wilderness. Chuami and Kurgum fell behind as they trekked on, occasionally whispering to each other and Gippal could picked up bit and pieces of their hushed conversation, not that he condoned eavesdropping. He was merely concerned. Dylan, he assumed his name was such, strolled alongside with Rikku whenever she called for him to parry off nearby encounters. The broadsword wielder seamlessly attacked the fiends without as much as a glimpse at the rest of the party who supported quietly behind him, they knew the extent of each other's abilities and there were hardly any lapse in their defence. Gippal couldn't help but be impressed at the teamwork exhibited though he noticed that the tall lad was stealthily looking out for Rikku whenever she lagged behind. There were signs of pain flickering beneath that stubborn mask that she hastily wore, no matter how much she tried to suppress, he knew she was not fully recovered.

He bit back a remark as he watched her trudge along silently, as if each step was an ordeal - which probably was given her injury. They reached their destination with relative easiness and without much encounters. The craft was well-hidden under the thick foliage of greens, the tell-tale sign of a bulky machinery could be seen if one bothered to peer underneath all the leaves.

Rikku stopped in her track and turned around to face Gippal. She had a proposition to make, a risky one at that but she was determined to bargain her way even if it hurt her pride.

"Sell me the prototype," she said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note** : Hello new and old reviewers and followers! I am sorry for the lack of update; I got so distracted with life and FFXIV. Please enjoy! I will try to upload Chapter 6 as soon as I can.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

The following two evenings found Gippal and Rikku in Dry Barrel, a tavern situated at a small settlement on the western coast of Bevelle.

Dusk fell swiftly in the region and the nightfall that followed was unexpectedly chilly for a summer night. As Rikku stepped into the tavern, she welcomed the warm respite with huffing breathes, fumbling a little as the wooden door creaked to a close. She continued to rub her hands together to generate warmth as she moved about, craning her neck for any sight of Gippal. She tugged onto her cloak tightly, afraid that someone might recognise the famous war heroine, while scouring the room like a hawk. Once she spotted the familiar blonde figure in the corner of the room, she hastily made a beeline for his table.

"I see you've got my message," Rikku announced sarcastically as she removed the hood that was concealing her face and plopped down unceremoniously onto the stool opposite Gippal. "So much for being secretive," she mumbled.

"Hey there, sweetheart," Gippal greeted and flashed a toothy grin. His complexion was faintly flushed and he seemed somewhat chirpier than his usual self - clearly, someone had had a couple of drink. "What would you like?" he asked.

Rikku shrugged off the remaining of her cloak and wrinkled her nose subconsciously. "Surprise me," she grumbled unkindly while folding the garment and laid it on the empty chair next to her. "Get me something creative. Just not the watered down crap they serve on tap."

"Creative eh?" Gippal smirked. "Not afraid of the consequences?"

"Hardly." Rikku replied with a shrug.

"I'll get ya something sweet, nothing too strong."

Gippal snapped at the barkeep and placed a complicated order without much fuss.

"Bad day?" He inquired after the male Hypello gave a low bow and ran towards the back room which Rikku could only assume to be the kitchen.

"More like _long_ day," she replied wearily, her eyes glazing over as she spoke. "Taken up lots of odd jobs in town the last few days. We're basically booked out for the entire week," she explained. Truth to be told, the rumour regarding the aircraft heist had affected them badly. The townsfolk were less than friendly to begin with and with this fuss under their belt, it made restocking almost impossible. The team had to rely on Dylan, whose appearance remained unknown to the locals, to replenish their dwindling supplies. Even so, Rikku knew that would not help with their deteriorating PR. They needed to boost their image somehow for the sake of receiving more bounty requests and hence the mundane odd jobs that were racking up since then. The requests ranged from deliveries to escorts and hunts and were mainly tasks that no other hunters wanted to do.

Gippal leaned forward with interest, his mouth angled for a smile. "So glad you could make time to see me then. Tell me more about this 'business' you are so keen on establishing between us. You honestly had my curiosity piqued the other day." he said in his usual presumptuous manner.

She found the vigor returning to her voice and she sat up a little straighter than she did before. "We need an upgrade and we want the same spec as your protocol aircraft," she said. She had mostly worked out what to say in her head and she related them to Gippal the best as she could.

 _Elite_ is an old girl. Together, they have sailed through multitudes of dangers and adventures from Home to the far end of Spira. _Elite_ was home to her and the rest of her crew when they have nowhere else to return to. She knew _her_ days were numbered but she could not give up on _her_ just yet. There must be something Gippal's men can do to prolong _her_ lifespan. "Perhaps a complete remodelling of the drive shaft may be in order, I am not too sure and well... you're the expert."

Gippal listened attentively and took his time contemplating over her situation. "It might be really tough," he replied after a sip of his ale. "Being an Al Bhed yourself, I am sure you understand the difficulty when I say we will have to wreck your baby inside out just to give her a makeover. It will be laborious from my end and it will take many more test runs before the craft is deemed safe to be operated once more. Even so there is no guarantee it may even fly again. The chances wouldn't be too good."

Rikku dropped her head with a huge sigh. "That's what I am afraid of."

"I know the nature of the work you do and I will be more than happy to loan your party one of my ships should you insist of this upgrade. At this rate you will be better off just purchasing a completely new airship."

The female Al Bhed held her hand up with narrowed eyes. "I am not abandoning _Elite!_ How can you even suggest that?" she exclaimed with a tone of contempt.

"I suppose that leaves us with only one option – to go on with the upgrade."

She nodded fervently in reply before breaking the eye contact. "Supposedly we charter the Machine Fraction's aid...how much will this upgrade cost? To be completely honest, we don't make much as bounty hunters. In fact, we could barely scrap by some days. And then there were days where we took on odd jobs just to make ends meet."

Gippal watched her intently before responding. "You do know that the invisibility core itself would cost you more than an arm and leg? What are you proposing at?"

Rikku bit her lips and voiced her intent carefully. "Perhaps our service could be of some help to you? We're good at what we do and we can clear off fiend-infested areas in exchange for payment," she said as the barmaid placed the drinks and some light snacks on the table. "We will of course still pay you back whenever we get paid from our regular hunts," she added quickly when she felt his eyes burning onto her. "I am just hoping we could pay you back in installments on top of all that."

She felt her breath hitched up in her throat as she gauged his expression.

"I never did doubt your abilities, Cid's girl. You're famous for saving Spira after all," Gippal replied reassuringly and nudged for her to consume her drink. "One thing I don't quite understand though, why haven't you seek Cid out with this? Have you considered asking him at all?" Colours were slowly draining away from her face as he pressed on."Your old man will be more than happy to cater to your request with no extra charges. You're his baby girl after all."

"We...we haven't talk for a while, not since I left Home," she replied after a hesitant pause.

He had not expected the ambiguous response – perhaps the change of attitude was due to fatherly issues after all?

"And how long is that? Ten years?" Now that he thought back on it, Cid did seem a little depressed and edgy when he last visited him for new shipments. The old man had always exhibited exasperating attitude for as long as he knew him and he did not pay much attention to what he says these days. Cid never did like him due to his infamous…conquests. Let's just leave it at that.

Rikku instantly tensed up, refusing to respond as he pressed on. Eventually he gave in and rubbed his neck out of frustration. He was definitely going to regret this.

"All right, all right... my bad. I am not going to ask what happened with your old man anymore if it makes you uncomfortable."

Rikku gave him a grateful nod.

"- but if you want a price, we are looking at about four million to five million gils." Rikku's mouth was left hanging at this point but he was not done just yet. What he was about to say will definitely cost him a week of screaming from his work partner and two-month worth of 'I can't believe you seal a deal without consulting me' look which may just kill him if her favourite carry folder did not do the trick. "We can work the figures out eventually but – ugh…we could definitely use fellow hunters like your party to help us clear inhabited dungeons," he made that up as he went on. "We're expanding our excavation into places such as the Den of Woe," he really wasn't lying about this bit but that did earned him an eyebrow from Rikku. "I know, I know, bad memories and stuffs but someone need to clear that shithole so we can shed more lights onto the Machina war thousands of years ago... for greater Spira and all that." He ended the talk on a slightly careless tone and hoped that it was convincing enough. He definitely did not want her to think that he was given her preferential treatment even though that was exactly what he was doing.

"You need to know I'm not running a charity over at Machine Fraction," he said in hope to drive the message across. "We will take into account the work you do to compensate for the cost of your airship though I can't promise that we can definitely upgrade the ship successfully. Nevertheless, we won't know till we try. I will get my best engineers on it once I return to Djose Temple."

Rikku took a moment to process in everything before springing up and gave him the biggest hug she could managed despite their awkward positions. Worries that once marred her pretty face were now replaced with hope and ecstasy – Gippal did not only promise her new airship but a long-term employment as well!

"Thank you, thank you so much!" she exclaimed and pulled away. "I promised _the_ _Blood Mojo_ would not disappoint you!

"The – _what?_ "

"It's my party name you silly Gippie!" she cheered and did a little dance on the spot. Meanwhile, Gippal frowned at the terrible party name and could have sworn that Kurgum mentioned a different name the day he met them. But then again, he was just immensely glad that they were finally conversing in a much friendlier tone. And the fact that she had just called him 'Gippie' – that _was_ definitely a good sign.

He regained his composure and stuck his hand out to seal the deal. "You did drive a hard bargain, Cid's girl."

"It's good doing business with you," she replied, full of smile and good vibes.

"I did not expect the talk to turn out like this at all," he said.

"What made you change your mind?" she asked.

"That smile, right there, that's what made this transaction worth its value."

Rikku did not know how to respond. Instead, she nodded meekly at his direction before signalling the bar-keep for another round of sugary, fruity goodness. Whatever he ordered for her, it was definitely delicious. The evening went on with less serious talks and more relaxing subjects; Rikku drank so much that she began to drift in and out of conversation and collapsed in the middle of her story of how Dylan mistook Chaumi's avid collections of cactuar figurines as actual cactuar pests and threw them all out. Gippal was contented to just listen to her talk about a life he knew nothing off and paid for two rooms in the tavern to house them for the night. After tucking Rikku into the room next to his, Gippal went to bed with an unsatisfied yearning for company and a dream full of his forgotten childhood.

* * *

Rikku woke up the next morning to the sound of relentless knockings.

"I can't believe you stayed overnight here without dropping us any messages! I had to share the room with two snoring wyverns last night." That was Chaumi, Rikku concluded with her eyes closed. Only her highness can start each morning with such narcissistic theatrics.

"Good morning to you too," Rikku replied scathingly, stepping aside to allow for the rest of her crews to enter. She stifled a huge yawn and scratched the back of her head which was still pounding from all the drinking last night. Kurgum politely greeted her and handed her a sober up potion in which she received with open gratitude. He never ceased to amaze her with his attentiveness. She can only to hope to say the same about Chaumi. Dylan gave her a nod and simply positioned himself next to the wall, silently watching his surrounding with a keen eye.

"What are you doing Chaumi?" Rikku asked when she realised the younger woman who came barging at half past nine had started tossing the pillows and comforter away from the bed.

"Proving a point," she countered.

Rikku glanced sideways at both male members for an answer. "What's _her_ problem?"

"They had a bet going on," Dylan bluntly explained. Rikku understood where he was coming from and rolled her eyes at their childishness.

By then, Chuami had already moved on to the closets and bathroom with the hope of uncovering any sign of the Machine Fraction's leader. Gippal had obviously checked out from his room, she vaguely remembered him saying he needed to be somewhere early this morning. Rikku decided that the best course of action was to ignore Chaumi and get ready for the day.

The party eventually left her alone to her morning routine and she found a recorded message in her commsphere whilst wandering around her room, looking for her boots. She ignored the prompting message and tuck the gadget back onto her belt.

Fifteen minutes (and a very messy room) later, Rikku emerged from the room to join the rest of her crew down at the bar for some breakfast.

"Find anything up there?" She asked innocently as the barmaid dropped a stack of freshly cooked pancakes in front of her. She picked up the fork and twiddled it between her fingers as Chaumi shot her a dirty look.

"We spoke to the barkeep earlier this morning and the Hypello said both of you disappeared upstairs last night after he paid for your room," Chaumi protested and crossed her arms firmly, her breakfast still untouched.

Rikku smirked and took a bite out of the pancakes. "Maybe if you came _earlier_ you might still be able to catch us in some… _hot_ action," she cooed and stabbed the strawberry a little too hard that it ended up rolling onto the ground. She tried to keep a straight face as she bent down to pick it up.

Chaumi's jaw fell and Kurgum gave a little squeak at her 'confession'.

" _I knew it_!" Chaumi exclaimed excitedly and stuck her hand out to Kurgum, demanding to be compensated instantly for winning the bet. "You're taking over three of my dinner shifts starting tomorrow," she snickered happily.

"Whatever was the condition of the bet?" Rikku asked, still wearing the same smug expression. This was shaping up to be a great day already.

Dylan, being the mature one in the party, had decided early on to stay out of the conversation and continued to eat his breakfast in silence.

"Chaumi said she was so sure you had a thing going on with Sir Gippal," Kurgum explained. "And since you did not come back last night –"

"- you slept with him!" Chaumi intercepted gleefully and waggled her eyebrow suggestively at Rikku.

The smirk never once left Rikku's face. "Ah in that case, Kurgum wins the bet," Rikku declared in which Kurgum responded with a punch in the air.

"Now you owe me three dinner shifts," he countered and stuck his hand out which was immediately slapped away by Chaumi.

"We knew you shared a room last night," she said suspiciously. "Are you positive nothing happened last night? But how would you know anyway, you were dead on your feet."

Rikku took her time chewing the pancake before replying, "Well, if you have bothered inquiring thoroughly with the Hypello, he will tell you that Gippal actually paid for two rooms, not one. And we're just childhood friends, I don't even like him."

"Liar," Chuami hissed. "Didn't you use to date him?"

Rikku raised an eyebrow. "I did not. I don't know why we are even having this conversation," she frowned as continued with her meal.

"Because we all care," Chaumi said.

"We do care. Chuami on the other hand, just like to gossip," Kurgum intercepted.

"Hey, you were curious about their relationship too!" she retorted.

Rikku wiped her lips with a napkin. "Well in that case, I might as well break the news now."

"This is it," Chaumi made a dramatic noise as she stuck her tongue out at Kurgum.

Rikku paused and glanced at everyone before announcing, "We're officially under the employment of Machine Fraction until further notice."

" _We're – what?!_ "

Even Dylan looked up from his food.

"You couldn't have told us that the first thing this morning?" Chaumi demanded.

Rikku tilted her head and narrowed her eyes on her. "You were busy thrashing the room, remember?"

Kurgum, who could barely contain his excitement, pushed Chaumi back down to her seat and leaned forward with hopeful eyes. "The conversation went well then?"

Rikku nodded excitedly with him. "Gippal has agreed to do what he can to get _Elite_ fix and hopefully an invisibility core attached as well. We will be handing her over to Machine Fraction once we complete our local hunts here in Bevelle." She explained. "We should aim to get them all done by this week."

Kurgum gave a whooping cheer and tucked back into his meal. Rikku had almost finish her breakfast by then, stood up and went to settle the bill before Chaumi could comment more on the sudden announcement. With an afternoon packed full with hunts and tasks, they decided to split into groups of two - Kurgum and Chaumi will be delivering requested items to the nearby towns while Dylan and Rikku will be clearing off marks along the highway that leads into the city of Bevelle, promising to meet up back at the tavern three days after.

After a hasty goodbye (Chaumi's insistence of knowing what really went on last night had Rikku blazing with annoyance by the time they checked out of Dry Barrel), Rikku led her two-man party into the woodland with Dylan trailing right behind her. The green wilderness faded away and the yellow-soiled path began to widen into cobbled street as they vanquished fiends effortlessly along the way. Still, their marks were nowhere in sight. They searched for hours but to no avail. Feeling the drain of stamina and magick, Rikku called for a long deserving break and they set up camp near the running stream, far away from the path the merchants take to enter Bevelle.

After a mind-numbing routine of setting up the tent, Rikku chose to take the first watch by the fire, remaining silent as Dylan busied himself with their dinner. She stared absent-mindedly into the crackling flame, occasionally tossing a few dried branches to keep the flames going. She could hear the wind picking up every so slightly and it gave her shiver as the temperature began to fall. Reaching out into her belt to pull out a more appropriate dressphere, her forgotten commsphere rolled out with a soft click and a voice message began to play.

" _Good morning Cid's girl, assuming it will be morning when you watch this. I just tuck you into bed and boy, you should hear yourself snore. I supposed the drink was a tad too strong for you."_

There was a pause in the recording and Rikku could hear some awkward shuffling in the background.

 _"I just am kidding, you slept like a log little girl. Nothing short of quake can wake you up. Don't worry about the bill though, it's all sorted out, consider it my treat. And no, I did not do anything to you tonight, if you're wondering about it -"_

Rikku did wonder and found herself blushing as his hearty laughter filled the silence.

" _\- although it was quite tempting."_

By then, her cheeks were flushed red and she had almost dropped the sphere at his proclamation.

 _"It was good reconnecting with you again tonight. It felt like forever since we last talk. About the aircraft, I know you have a week full of things going on, so just drop by Djose Temple whenever you're ready. Mjelin has been briefed about your situation, he will be more than happy to help you out. He'll also know to look out for you in a week or two. And as for the hunts, I'll contact you again when we have work for you. Oh man, I think I ramble too long and the sky is starting to light up. I need to be somewhere else this morning so I probably will be gone by time you're awake. I hope you have a good night rest because you sounded like you really need one. Catch ya later."_

The message ended and commsphere flashed red before turning itself off. Rikku stared at the sphere where Gippal's image used to be and felt her heartbeat thumped a little faster than she had expected it to be. The enmity she felt towards him seemed to have dissipate along with his charming voice, leaving behind a warm yet perplexed feeling.

She was so caught up with her internal musing, she did not realised Dylan was standing right next to her with concerned expression.

"You seem distress tonight," he spoke in his usual cool voice.

Rikku looked up to see her teammate hovering before her with a bowl of soup and some dry biscuits.

"Thank you," she said and smiled softly at the tank, though the heat from her face had not abate. She did not want Dylan to question her about it and tried to hide her face from the source of light by moving slightly to the left, picking up her dinner as she did. Dylan sat down on her old spot without further comment.

They both dined in silence until Dylan sat his dish down on the ground.

"Something happened with the leader of Machine Fraction?"

Rikku snapped out of her reverie and blinked at him. "Why did you say so?" she asked.

He merely pointed at her half-eaten soup. "You hardly touch your dinner."

"Oh," was all she could say and she lifted the bowl back onto her lap.

"You don't have to talk about it if it's difficult."

"It's not difficult," she sighed. "Just...confusing. Promise you won't tell Kurgum or Chaumi about this?"

He frowned and tensed at her remark. "I do not gossip," he said with such repulsion that Rikku could not help it but burst out laughing and patted his back as an act of confidence. She could always trust Dylan, they have been working side by side for as long as she could remember. He was that one guy she could always count on to have her back.

"I trust you," she smiled. "I've always trust you," she continued with a distant look in her eyes. "Him, however, I don't know if I could."

"Did he do anything to you yesterday?"Dylan asked.

Rikku quickly shook her head. "No, nothing like that. It was just something he said."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered, his dark eyes softened at the younger woman.

Setting the empty bowl down on the grass, Rikku leaned back and squinted at the night sky with a serene expression. "No... I think I am fine. Thank you for the concern though, the dinner is very delicious." she quipped, unaware of the change of expression on his face as she said it.

Dylan nodded numbly. The flash of pain was gone from his face as quick as it came and without another word, he stood up from the spot with two empty bowls in hand, leaving Rikku alone to her own musing.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - Story not dead! Just forgotten to update this after my long trip to Hawaii. If you play enough online rpg, there is a Chaumi in every party. And in my party, that is me.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Kurgum watched with a concerned expression from the passenger seat as _Elite_ 's engine whirred to a complete stop and Dylan went through the necessary process of shutting down the aircraft. He had his eyes on Rikku from time to time as she barked out orders from the pilot's seat and Kurgum was not blind to the way he was looking at her. Since the last hunt in Bevelle where they were divided into groups of two, Kurgum noticed a subtle shift in behaviour and he had been eyeing them closely ever since. It was midday by the time they landed in Djose's aerodrome and three weeks since Rikku sealed the deal with Machina Fraction. They took extra hunts along the way, detouring from Bevelle to Mount Gagazet, Calm Land and Moonflow before rerouting back to Djose. During those weeks, Rikku had been uncharacteristically quiet and pensive. She kept to herself most of the time, only talking when required and questioned. He knew something was definitely amiss. He had raised her odd behavior with Chaumi more than once but she had only shrugged and said, " _who knows, it's one of those days you know_?". No, Kurgum didn't know hence why he was inquiring. Chaumi was obviously too preoccupied with herself to notice her surroundings and the people around her as usual. Undeterred, he went on and bugged the only other member, Dylan who simply shook his head and walked away. Dylan's continuous aloofness had only confirmed Kurgum's suspicions.

A deep male voice boomed from the airship's receiver and Kurgum eyed Rikku suspiciously as she responded rapid fire in her native tongue and Dylan listened on attentively, nodding at her from time to time while he continued to tweak the airship's systems. Nothing odd there... for now. His eyes lingered on them a moment longer before he hopped off from his seat in search of Chaumi who was making a last sweep of the cabins before _Elite_ was officially handed over to the Al Bheds.

"I told you, something happened between those two," Kurgum announced unceremoniously as he barged into the girl's room.

Chaumi sighed and dropped the box containing her Cactuar figurines onto the vanity table. With a stern look, she turned around to face Kurgum with both hands on her waist.

"For the last time, stop making things up and help me carry these boxes. We haven't got all day."

"No I am telling you, I sense a different vibe coming from those two since Bevelle," he continued with a serious note in his voice. "Do you reckon they went through a fight or something? But Captain doesn't look like she is avoiding him though," he stopped thoughtfully before adding, " - _more like Dylan is_."

"The _only_ vibe I am sensing right now is _you_ trying to skip out on work while me, the poor, _poor_ hardworking soul is doing all the hard work for the first time in a very long time," Chaumi made a dramatic comment and proceeded to carry her personal belongings out of the room, giving Kurgum no space to follow up with his observation.

He however did not relent, picked up two boxes, stacked them and stalked her out of the door, determined to prolong the conversation as long as he could.

"Haven't you notice the awkward looks Dylan is giving Captain whenever they are close in proximity? They don't talk to each other as much as they did anymore and that's because Captain who is usually the talkative one out of the two has stopped going up to him to start any conversation unless it is completely necessary. Dylan really does look a little put out by that."

Chaumi bit her lips and dropped the boxes, almost carelessly, at the foot of the craft exit and took the boxes off Kurgum to do the same. "Really now? You've been awfully busy studying those two huh? Don't you have anything better to do?"

Kurgum ignored the sarcasm in her voice and pressed on.

"You should be more concerned about this!"

Chaumi inclined her head to challenge his statement. "And why should I? Even if something did happen, they are both adults, they'll sort it out themselves. Just let them be, stuffs happen from time to time. Blame it on ego, lack of sleeps, hormones - _whatever._ "

Kurgum gasped as he allowed her to lead him back to the cabin to transport the last of the boxes. "Trust me when I say we don't need the drama, we should contain it before it gets worse," he explained.

Chaumi merely chuckled and juggled the box containing delicate trinkets on top of the craft logbooks as she stepped pass Kurgum by the door. "Come on, how bad can it get?"

"Do I need to remind you of the time when Captain got awfully chummy with one of the henchmen from our rivals? _The Flying Foxes_?"

Chaumi furrowed her brows and thought very hard. "The bounty hunters that tried following us around for a bit and ultimately failed? I wouldn't even consider them as rivals, not even this close," she made a show with her fingers.

Kurgum smirked. "Yeap, them."

"Your point is?" She dropped the boxes she was carrying before with renewed curiosity. "I thought she was just putting up a show to distract them while we loot their illegal cargoes?"

"You thought wrongly." Kurgum answered. "Well not entirely… but Dylan was really pissed at her for two whole months after. This was just like a repeat of before - he is not talking, she is blissfully unaware, all this unwarranted stress builds up over time and boom- _catastrophe_."

Chaumi burst out laughing at the healer's dramatic hand gestures as he went on with all the possible bad ends scenarios of the two. She knew exactly what he was talking about but this sort of talks weren't really her forte. She would like to avoid talking about feelings if she could, play it dumb as long as she could. It was all for the sake of preserving the dynamic of the team. She liked how everything is right now and she would not ruin her perfect lifestyle by pointing out the obvious. And seeing Kurgum getting all worked out was really cute.

"You should have been a performer instead of a hunter," she joked and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "My advice remains the same -leave them be and let them work it out. Stop making us look like the mature ones, they are the adults, not us. I am hardly twenty-one and I don't intend to part with my precious collection of baby cactuar figurines until I am old and bitter about my life."

Kurgum pouted but didn't answer. He took the remaining box and followed her out of the door, perhaps there was some truth in what Chaumi was trying to say. Neither of them were aware of the storm that was going to hit them.

* * *

"That should be all, let's hand her over to the Machina Fraction," Rikku said, stood up and gave the steering console a last look before walking off. Dylan quietly followed suit, making sure everything was shut down on their way down.

An old male Al Bhed greeted them when they disembarked and Rikku quickly stepped forward to receive him.

"You must be Mjelin," she shook his hand with a smile. " _Hela du saad oui_."

"Lady Rikku, _dra bmaycina ec seha_." the man responded warmly and nodded at her party, switching back to common tongue. "Welcome to Djose Temple, the headquarters to Machina Fraction. I hope the instructions given to you earlier weren't too overbearing."

"Dylan had it all down quickly, we have sync Elite to your internal network as requested," she replied.

Mjelin nodded gratefully at Dylan before responding, "Brilliant. Now before we proceed, can I have the passcode to your airship? Protocols."

Rikku nodded and urged Dylan to hand over the key sphere containing the craft's access. He did so without any complaint.

"Very good. Please be assured that your airship is in good hands. Now, if you would please follow me this way, I will give you a brief tour of our facility before I drop you lot off at our reception to check in. There is much to see and much more to learn."

Kurgum's eyes lit up at the old man's words and soon he was distracted by the complicated architectures as Mjelin went on to explain the origin of the temple. Chaumi found herself watching the interaction between the older duo more than ever and silently cursed Kurgum for perking her curiosity. So much for staying at the sidelines.

They left the bustling hangar and moved along the corridors of the temple which have been transformed and rebuilt to accommodate the activities as well as the large influx of workers since The Calm. Myelin had graciously gone through the function of each rooms in detail, starting from the aerodrome and engineer rooms down to the staff's personal rooms. While there were lounges and temporary cabins for quick naps, only high ranking officers actually lived on-site and most of the workers commute from the nearby town which was set up years earlier when Machina Fraction made Djose their home. The important staffs were all housed on the highest floors. The floor below that were miscellaneous rooms that no one really understood what they were for. Below that were the communication rooms and database libraries. Kurgum gave a small squeak when he laid his eyes on the sea of tomes containing every Al Bhed technology ever invented by the race since the beginning of Spira. Even Dylan's eyes lit up. Rikku scanned the room proudly, knowing how much effort Gippal had put in to get these tomes excavated from Bikanel Island. She was actually there to witness the start of the project after YuRiPa was disbanded. Half of Home was in ruin as a result of the attack from Yevon that happened whilst she was still part of Yuna's pilgrimage and most of the tomes were either destroyed or unsalvageable. Cid had the Elders recorded the important ones as spheres and saved the rest in their original condition. Gippal had then slowly transported these to Djose over the years and access were given to anyone from Home who wishes to read them. Thousands of more spheres were housed on the other section of the library and these contained recorded information and salvaged histories from the attack. They were labelled accordingly to years and a giant monitor was placed over the room to notify any staff members of important announcements.

"Is this database library restricted to personnels only?" was Kurgum's first question. Mjelin shook his head with a soft smile and replied, "Only the first three rows are for public access, the rest are restricted to staffs only. Access is given if it is required as part of your missions, however you will need to sign the confidentiality documents. While I admire your thirst for knowledge, please note that these tomes and spheres are written or recorded in Al Bhed language. Some of it in ancient Al Bhed, not even I can understand them."

Kurgum hung his head low and said disappointedly "Ugh, I am the only one in the group that can't read or speak Al Bhed," Dylan walked up to him to ruffle his head in a stoic but comforting manner.

Mjelin raised his brows at the remaining members. Chaumi met his gaze and shrugged. "Mother's an halfie. She trained me in writing and speaking since the age of four. She always told me it will come in handy," she answered nonchalantly. Kurgum eyed her jealously and she stuck her tongue out playfully in reply.

Mjelin then turned his focus on Dylan.

"Picked it up myself." He offered no other information.

"Impressive," the older man praised. Rikku smiled affectionately at her friend but he remained indifferent. Both the younger members were watching them intently through all these.

The group then moved to the lower floors where technology research was continuously being conducted by Gippal's men. There were foreigners amongst the teams which made Rikku raised her brows at but chose not to comment. She had always thought the fraction would not share its secret with the rest of Spira but Gippal was proving her wrong with time again. She had to admit her previous clouded judgement of him was slowly clearing off.

The tour routed back to aerodrome where aircrafts, transporters for excavation purposes, goods as well as other forms of transportation were stored, Mjelin then proceeded to guide them back to the lobby where the reception was.

In the midst of their tour, Rikku overheard Chaumi whispering to Kurgum, "This is getting so boring, let's accidentally get away from the old people. I saw an interesting door at the end of that pathway before." And before anyone could stop them, they have sprinted away expertly from the party and Rikku had to apologise repeatedly to Mjelin who had been nothing but kind to them. They backtracked their steps to a fork junction where Dylan took the left path, Mjelin the right and Rikku headed on straight down the path that was previously restricted and it led her to an unoperated elevator. She was given temporary access by Mjelin and she scanned the locked elevator with the mini sphere attached on the band of her wrist. Unsure of where to start, she randomly hit the buttons and felt the lift jolted upwards in a slow manner. She bit her lips nervously, feeling embarrassed at first but the feeling was then replaced with anger by the time the elevator reached the intended floor.

Rikku double checked their communication spheres. Nope, still down. That little brats, think it is so funny to just run away in someone else's property especially when they have yet to commence work?

She stepped into a vast room consisted of a large bed at one corner of the room, a tiny bar and kitchenette on the other, a door that probably leads of to bathroom and a grand mahogany table in the middle of it all, surrounded by chairs and couches. She carefully walked forward, tiptoeing almost, as an unsettling purge begun to stir within her stomach. There were beautiful artworks of Spira scattered across the walls on her right and portraits that she could barely make out on her left due to the sunlight beaming down on them from the glass windows before her. She paced across the floor in awe as the magnificent view hit her, she could see the sun setting beyond the plane of Mushroom Rocks and lights began to come to life down at the the bustling town of Djose where merchants were peddling their wares by the streets as swarm of people walked through the market. Her worries were momentarily forgotten as she admired the scene, only to be disturbed by a loud voice coming from the doors of the elevator.

"Are you in here because-" the voice halted as a young woman strolled into the room with a folder in her hand and a pen in another. " _Who are you and what are you doing here?_ " She asked suspiciously, looking around to check for any other presence besides Rikku.

Rikku immediately tried to say something but was rudely cut off by the woman clad in tight-fitting jumpsuit with a revealing bikini top. She had auburn hair and wore a goggles over it with blue eyes that radiated hostility. She was just as startled to see Rikku but her face morphed into an ugly snide as she began to walked around the room to look for something or someone.

"I told him not to bring any whores up to his office again, clearly he didn't get the message," the woman in red said as she upturned the neat bed and checked the bathroom.

"Excuse me?" Rikku answered angrily as she moved a step back when the woman approached her hurriedly to check on the private library on the left. "I don't know where am I and I am no whore," Rikku explained through gritted teeth, it was getting harder for her to try and stay courteous with the stranger before her.

The woman moved onto the hidden room on the left and opened the door to investigate. From the small crack of the door, Rikku could tell it was a walk-in closet. This luxurious room can only belong to one other person in the entire fraction.

"You haven't answer my question," the woman came back and stood before her. She was only an inch shorter than her and she had a very, Rikku gulped, voluptuous figure that made her cringed with envy. Rikku tried not to give her an one over. She on the other hand, wasn't as subtle. Rikku could literally feel her judgemental eyes scanning all over her.

"Well?" The woman repeated. "I haven't got all day you know," she said in a haughty tone. "Do you realise you are currently standing in the room of the Machina Fraction's leader?"

Rikku rolled her eyes at the woman. She clearly deserved no respect from her judging from _that_ attitude. "I figure as much. Two of my members got lost and I was looking for them. Obviously I didn't know where I was going as I ended up in this unfortunate place. Name's Rikku." She answered with heavy sarcasm and turned around to leave. "Don't you worry, I will remove myself from this premise right away. Didn't want to be here in the first place anyway," she replied sourly.

The woman stopped her in the track and blocked her only exit. She tapped her boots impatiently and stared at Rikku's face with a calculation look. "So... you're the famous Lady Rikku," she drawled and circled around her. "I don't know why Gippal is so entranced by you when he could have any woman he wants in Spira. Do you know that he offered you something that was against our fraction's policy without any prior consultation with me, _his personal_ _secretary_?"

Rikku raised an eyebrow and glared down at the shorter woman. That was one thing she felt she had over the seething woman seeing how she had lost in every other departments. She never knew someone could rock a jumpsuit that... sexily.

" _Clearly_ someone isn't happy about it," she smirked though it was against her personal beliefs to flaunt her hero status. She wasn't ignorant to the fact that her previous deeds had gained herself notoriety throughout Spira. Being born as Cid's daughter only helped boost her image. "I didn't know Gippal needed your counsel to approve anything. Is he the leader or are you the leader?" Rikku answered sarcastically and her smile grew wider as she watched her opponent's face flushed with fury. "And by the way, it is completely rude to ask for someone's name and not offered yours back. Learn some manners, woman."

The woman pushed pass Rikku, purposely knocking her hard on her shoulder and reached for the commsphere on Gippal's table. "I am removing you out of this room for trespassing, I will let Gippal know that you are snooping around his room. Who even give you access in the first place? Whoever that is, I will make sure he or she gets fired after this."

Rikku's eyes widened at the revelation. Before she could comment, the elevator sprung to life and stopped at the executive floor. Rikku watched as a familiar handsome figure stepped out from it, his eyes immediately fell at Rikku and the at the only other woman in the room. He gave his signature smile and greeted them both.

"Ladies," he said. "Have you met?"

Rikku absentmindedly went to fix her hair but caught herself and channelled all her anger at Gippal. "Your secretary -" she began but was instantaneously interrupted by a familiar voice through her beeping commsphere.

" _Rikku_ ," Dylan 's voice filled the room and everyone looked at her with interest. " _We found them. They were loitering around the libraries_."

"Thanks Spira! I will be right there, make sure to not let them out of your sight and the communication channel stays open," she cried into the sphere. She had not realised how nervous she was until then and was somewhat relieved that she could avoid the confrontation she dreaded with Gippal.

"I will just be on my way," she announced to no one in particular and quickly try to exit to the opened elevator.

Gippal caught her wrist on time (which his secretary watched on with annoyance) and stopped her from leaving. "Did something happen here?" He asked, his voice full of concern. "When did you arrive?"

She pulled her wrist away quickly and shook her head, for some reason unable to look at him. Her mind was buzzing from the memories in Bevelle, she could feel her heart leaping out of chest and her face warmed with flush. She could smell him from such close distance, of the sand from Bikanel Island, oil and a hint of his favourite booze, it was simply intoxicating. Why was she feeling this way? She had sworn to kill off any feelings she have for him since they were kids and the wrist which he previously grabbed was burning underneath his touch.

"I'm sorry for barging in," she declared, her eyes trained hard on the elevator. "I need to go, I will drop by with my team to introduce ourselves later on when we have the chance to settle in."

"Sure," he said, sounding a little disappointed. "By the way, welcome to the Fraction, Cid's girl," he added and walked away to acknowledge his secretary. Rikku punched the floor number repeatedly as there were no 'close' button in the elevator and she watched the woman placed both arms on Gippal's neck intimately, pulling close for an embrace. She caught her eyes and smirked victoriously, unbeknownst to the man in question. Rikku simply looked away, her heart not calming down the slightest. She chanced a glance at the couple once more when the door was about to close.

Once the elevator landed, she made her way to the library as swiftly as she could and met up with the rest of her crew and Mjelin.

"Don't you dare go wander off on your own again, both of you," she flicked Chaumi's forehead and glared furiously at Kurgum's direction.

Holding her forehead in pain, Chuami cried out when she realised Kurgum was receiving a bias treatment yet again. "Hey that isn't fair! Kurgum is in this just as much as me! Why did you only hit me and not him?"

Rikku ignored her outburst and marched right up to Mjelin to offer her apologies. She insisted they checked in with the reception to get their missions started as soon as the order comes in. The rest of her crew tagged along behind her in silence. Kurgum however, notice the peculiar look Dylan was giving to his captain.

"Dylan?" He asked softly. "Something the matter?"

He looked at the younger man and gave him one of his rare smiles. "Nothing, I just forgot to turn off my commsphere before."

Kurgum looked at Rikku's retreating figure and back at Dylan. He blinked a few times before muttering, "We are sorry about our little 'side trip'."

Surprised at his apology, Dylan put an arm around his shoulder as they walked down the corridor. "You're a good lad with a thirst for knowledge. No harm in that," he consoled.

"I know, I can't believe I let Chaumi talk me into it. I know how much this job means to all of us." The older man cast a glance at the younger man and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.

"Would you like me to teach you Al Bhed?" Dylan added as an afterthought.

"Would you? Really?" Kurgum eyes sparkled brightly and Dylan could not help but return his smile.

"It isn't too hard to pick up, I am sure you will excel."

Kurgum did a little dance as the receptionist uploaded the temple's map into each of their commspheres. Dylan nodded numbly at Rikku as she passed him his room's number and passcode, unable to bring himself to ask her if she was truly fine. He watched her dejected figure entered the room she was sharing with Chaumi with worried eyes before moving his belongings into his.


End file.
